Pete Moye’
Arts Button

The recently released album, “4,” by Beyonce Knowles, is a breath of fresh air to listen to compared to many of the current pop albums that have been released in the past three years.

The 12-song album, which is Knowles fourth studio album, has a great mixture of styles of music that will make it difficult for listeners to get tired of after it a few times on repeat.

The album offers songs that have a late-1970s R&B feeling to them with a lot of emotion behind them. The songs, like the first single “1+1,” would be the perfect type of song to play on a romantic date or when you would want to propose to your future spouse.

The album also has its own share of the party songs that just makes people want to get up and dance, with songs like the hit single “Run the World (Girls),” which sampled the dancehall song “Pon de Floor” by Major Lazer.

These songs are just right to play at the clubs or when you and your girlfriend just want to have fun.

There were a few songs that were Jackson 5-esque, like “Love on Top,” that, quite possibly, draw her older fans to buy her album, or people who are into old-school R&B.

Knowles got help from some of the today’s top writers and producers, including Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo from the Neptunes, Chris “Tricky” Stewart, and Terius “The Dream” Nash.

With a creative team like this, it would only be right for the album to be at least half decent.

The album just didn’t match up to Knowles’ debut album, “Dangerously in Love,” mainly because it seems as if she was trying to adjust too much with today’s trend of music.

Overall, it is an album pop fans should consider over many other albums that have been recently released.

“4” has been put together well, and has hit after hit that people can sing along to and it is still on Billboard’s Top 10 charts after about three months of being released.

Next time you go to Walmart, Target, or even on iTunes to buy a CD, you should consider having this album at the top of your list.